In addition to pure punch presses with oscillating tools that are known, e.g., from the sheet metal processing industry, punching devices for the paper processing industry also exist. These punching devices exclusively use punching tools. However, it is also known to provide rollers or cylinders that are intended for printing purposes and which are referred to, for example, as printing cylinders, form cylinders or rubber cylinders with processing tools that extend around these cylinders in a curved fashion. This makes it possible to inexpensively carry out punching, perforating, grooving or embossing processes on the printed or yet-to-be printed paper or cardboard sheets during the printing process, i.e., with the working systems that are in any case provided in a printing plant.
Analogous to printing blankets that are placed around the rubber cylinders and clamped thereon, the aforementioned processing tools are also configured such that they can be clamped onto the periphery of rubber cylinders. Alternatively, it is possible to bond the processing tools onto a cylinder of a printing station in a printing machine, in particular, for larger batch sizes to be punched.
In both instances, the use of processing tools of comparatively large formats causes various problems. For example, the manufacture of these processing tools is very complicated, and consequently expensive, if the complete format of a punching sheet must be etched down except for the punching lines. Such clamped, large-format punching sheets are also very difficult to position, so that corrections in order to adapt the punching pattern to the sheets to be processed after the punching sheet is initially clamped in position result in significant expenditures. Expenditures for repositioning and correcting the position of the punching sheets are even greater when the punching sheets are bonded in position.
In addition to punching processes, groove-forming, perforating or embossing processes are also carried out in printing machines as part of what is referred to as in-line manufacture of printed sheets. These processes represent special instances of punching processes and were, until now, carried out with comparable working mechanisms.
In an in-line manufacturing process, imprinting or coating means are also used in printing machines for realizing additional processing steps in printing machines. In these instances, the alignment of the corresponding tools into the required working position is a known problem that can only be solved with significant mechanical expenditures.
In other known processing machines, flat as well as flat and cylindrical working surfaces are arranged opposite one another. In machines of this type which are also used for processing printed matter and packaging materials, the attachment of the processing tools also represents a known problem. The attachment of the processing tools on flat or curved surfaces does not differ in principle from the purely rotative processing method in this case. For example, the above-described problems also arise in a rotative processing tool that cooperates with a flat counter surface. Only the special requirements that result from the curvature are eliminated with flat processing tools. The relationship between the high expenditure for a full-surface processing tool and, if applicable, a small actual working surface is identical to the previously described circumstances.